Kentucky’s roster picture keeps getting clearer, and the newest piece is a big one.
Mark Pope landed another major transfer on Saturday night when former Duke and Missouri forward Mark Mitchell committed to the Wildcats, giving Kentucky a proven scorer and another likely starter as the program keeps building toward a breakthrough Year 3 under Pope. Kentucky has now added two five-star transfers, Mitchell and Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic, both of whom are top-10 transfers, according to 247Sports.
Mitchell’s path to Lexington came with a wrinkle. As a fifth-year player, he would have been ineligible, but on Friday he received a temporary restraining order via a Jefferson Circuit Court ruling in Kentucky. That cleared the way for him to play in 2026-27, and now he’ll suit up for Pope.
The 6-foot-9, 239-pound forward brings a long résumé with him. Mitchell spent two seasons at Duke before moving on to Missouri for two more years, and he has started 133 of the 134 games he has played in his career. Kentucky should plug him in at the 4, where his size and scoring touch give the Wildcats another dependable option.
Last season, Mitchell averaged 18.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 38.8% from three. He fits as a new-age floor spacer, the kind of forward who can stretch the defense and create room for Kentucky’s big man to work and rebound inside.
With Mitchell in the mix, Kentucky’s projected starting five has a transfer-heavy look. Zoom Diallo is expected to handle point guard duties after coming over from Washington, where he averaged nearly 16 points and five assists per game. Alex Wilkins, a 6-foot-5 guard from Furman, is projected at shooting guard after a freshman season that featured nearly 18 points and five assists per game.
Momcilovic, Kentucky’s other five-star addition, slots in on the wing. He was the second-ranked transfer in the nation and averaged 17 points while shooting nearly 49% from three. At 6-foot-8, he could also give Pope some flexibility at the 4 if needed.
The lone returner in the projected group is Moreno, a 7-foot center who averaged 7.8 points and 6.3 rebounds as a freshman last season. That gives Kentucky a lineup built almost entirely from the portal, with Mitchell now standing out as one of the biggest gets in the class.
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